Improvement in seed-planters



B. KUHNS.

Sed Planter.

No. 85,455. Patented Dec. 29,1868.

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BENJAMIN KUHNS,

gaunt time.

or DAYTON, oH o.

Letters Patent No. 85,455, dated December 29, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-PLANTERS. v

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BEN AMIN KUnNs, ofDayton, n the county of Montgomery, and State of Ohio, have inventedanew and useful Improvement in Seed-Drills;

' and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

My improvements relate to the dropping-mechanismof seeding-machines, andconsist in a novel construction of the pocketed rollers, and also in themanner of constructing and arranging the gearing for giving differentdegrees of motion to the seeding-mechanism.-

In the annexed drawings- A represents the frame of an ordinaryseed-drill, carried upon two wheels, B, one turning upon the spindles ofthe axle B, and the other keyed to the axle, so as to cause the latterto rotate with it, within suitable boxes attached to the fiame.

O is the hopper in common use, in which the seeds to be sown aredeposited.

It has holes in the bottom, in the usual manner, into which the seedsare fed by the pocketed rollers I), placed upon the shaft D, in a mannerin common use.

The construction of these pocketed rollers is peculiar. Theyhave beenheretofore constructed with ribs running straight in the direction oftheir axis, forming the partition between the pockets. They have alsobeen constructed with spiral ribs.

The peculiarity of construction adopted by me is, that I make the ribspiral for part of its length, at d,

and straight for the remainder, as at d, by which means I am enabled tosecure the advantages of a spiral rib, and avoid the objection of itsserving as a screw to press the grains against the heads d and thuscrush and injure them.

My improved roller, then, consists in constructing the pockets withsolid heads, di, and partitions, part spiral and part straight.

The'seeds are dropped into tubes in the ordinary manner.

The seeding-rollers are caused to revolve by the spurwheelE, connected,by the intermediate cone-pinion F, with the driving-wheel G, attached tothe axle B by a feather, which permits the said wheel G to be movedfreely into or out of gear with the intermediate pinion, by means of ashiftinglever, H. This lever is bifurcated, having points fitting intoan annular groove, g, on the sleeve of the driving-pinion G, so that byshifting the lever the said pinion may be thrown out of or into gear. v

The lever H is pivoted to a point, h, on an arm extending. from andsecurely fastened to themain frame.

The end of the lever is passed through a slot in the sliding-bar I, andadj nstably attached by a pin passing through one of a series of holes,I.

By fixing the end of the lever H further from or nearer to the frame ofthe machine, the distance to which it will-move the sliding-pinion Galong the axle, is correspondingly regulated, for a purpose to behereinafter explained.

One mode of operating the shifting-bar I, I have shown. A helical plate,L, is set with its edge in a notch in the edge of the bar I. The plateis centrally placed upona rod or beam, M, which may be turned on itsaxis by the lever M. By raising or lowering this lever, the helicalplate L will cause the bar I to slide in its bearings in the plate K,and thereby move the pinion G, upon the axle, to a point to bedetermined by the hole I, to which the shifting-lever H is attached.

It is desirable to give to the pocketed rollers such a motion as thecondition and quality of the grain,.or character of the work to be donemay require.

This variable speed has been sometimes obtained by. means of a series ofseparate pim'ons of several sizes, and also by means of a face-wheelhaving a series of concentric rows of cogs, which maybe used to give agreater or less speed to the revolution of the workingmechanism.

The variable motion has also been attained by means of cone-pulleys, butit is preferable to use gearing for the purpose, and I have accordinglyconstructed and arranged it as follows:

The intermediate cone-pinion F is composed of a series of wheels, caston one hub, having a uniform pitch, and of diiferent diameters, forminga cone of, say, four (more or less) wheels, all turning upon the sameaxis, and cast in one piece, or permanently attached to a single sleeve.

Iii-order that any of these wheels may be made to mesh into thedriving-pinion G, the intermediate pinion is attached so as to turnupona stud-pin projecting fi'om the face of the oscillating arm 0, turningupon the shaft D, which is the shaft of the wheel E.

The larger of the progressive series of .wheels is geared into thespur-wheel E,-and as the latter has a common centre with the centre ofoscillation of the arm 0, it follows that the intermediate pinion may beraised or lowered, without afiecting the mesh of the cogs. The arm 0 isattached at itsfront end, adjustably, by a set-screw, 0', working on awrist-pin projecting from the face of the said arm, and passing,

through a curved slot in the standard N, permanently and securely boltedto the main frame.

As the main frame and the pinion G have a common centre of oscillationand rotation, viz, the axle B, it follows that any of the series ofintermediate pinions will mesh into the cogs of t-lge driving-pinion G.

Thus, by raising or lowering the oscillating arm 0, either of theintermediate cone-pinions F may be made to mesh, both into the pinion Gand spur-wheel E; and by adjusting the lever H in one of the holes I,the throw of the pinion G may be regulated in reference to the pinion inthe cone which is to be used.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- l. The rollers D, constructed with pockets, formed by fixed heads(1 and intermediate partitions, formed by ribs, part spiral and partstraight, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the spur-wheel on the hill) or axle, and thespur-wheel on -the seed-roller, an intermediate set of pinions, cast inone piece, concentric with one another, so as to form a conespur-pinion, so arranged as to give a variable speed, by shifting thewheels in relation to one another, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the cone-wheel, the,osci1lating arm, andsliding-pinion, arranged in relation to one another, substantially asset forth.

4. The combination of the sliding-pinion G, frame A, standard N,oscillating arm 0, intermediate conewheel F, and wheel E, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination ofthe lever, the sliding-pinion and cone-pinion,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the oscillating bar M, helical plate L, andsliding-arm I,' snbstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7 So arranging the intermediate pinion and the sta tionary and slidingspur-wheels, that While the intermediate pinion swings on an armconcentric with one of the wheels, it shall at the same time swing onacentre common with the other, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

T. (l. OonnoLLY,

H. GARRETT.

B. KUHNS.

